


Of Princes and Their Dragons

by prettyboydotexe



Series: Sun Angels [5]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Assassination Plot(s), Dragons, Gen, M/M, Romance, Royalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-07 06:37:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5446823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettyboydotexe/pseuds/prettyboydotexe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He’d heard stories of the Peaceful Dragon, about its ebony hide and glimmering, silver eyes. It’d never attacked flocks, never carried away cattle, only occasionally swiping seemingly random things from yards when left unattended overnight. It had never been a problem until now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Princes and Their Dragons

It was midmorning when the messenger burst into King Apollo’s dining room, interrupting the Royal family’s breakfast and causing the well beloved king to spill orange juice down his front. The boy was worn and frazzled, barely able to speak through the winded breaths he took. 

“M-my lord!” he began, huffing and puffing in a frenzy. “Th-there’s been... been...”

“Christ’s sake, child, catch your breath before you tell me the matter. It may wait a moment,” King Apollo laughed, golden hair catching the light from the stained glass windows. His son, a near mirror image of his sire, sat to his left, creating symmetry with the lovely woman on the King’s right. 

“Thank you, sire,” the messenger quickly caught his breath, wiping his brow with a cloth from his pocket. “There has been a sighting in the Dragon’s Lair, a boy! He’s been kidnapped!” 

“Why, I thought that dragon was to be peaceful!” Apollo replied, outrage evident in his voice. Prince Wilhelm watched on in interest and concern. 

“This is the first event of a kind, my King. I’ve come straight from Delphi, he was sighted this morning!” 

“I’ll send a battalion at once!” 

“Father, please, don’t be so hasty,” the Prince spoke in an even voice, one the maids described as made of honey. “He may not be in danger. Send one lone man, he may be in and out with the boy without the Dragon’s noticing. They sleep during the day, do they not?” 

“But who would volunteer for such a task?” the King replied. “I have men on stand by for dragon killing, but going alone into its lair? It’s madness.” 

“I will go,” the Prince smiled to his father, already standing up. “It’s proper time I got out of the castle, after all. I will go, and save the boy.”

Wilhelm left no room for argument, calmly and logically defusing his father’s impassioned tries. His mother looked weary, but said nothing. She said little these days. 

And so it was settled, Prince Wilhelm would set off with a guard to the reaches of the forest, and from there he would travel alone. He would slip into the lair, find the boy, and make it back to the castle with haste, avoiding confrontation with the dragon at all costs. 

He’d heard stories of the Peaceful Dragon, about its ebony hide and glimmering, silver eyes. It’d never attacked flocks, never carried away cattle, only occasionally swiping seemingly random things from yards when left unattended overnight. It had never been a problem until now, so no one ever thought to hunt it. If the boy was unharmed, they probably still wouldn’t. It was possible the boy had been carried off while carelessly exploring at night. It was not unheard of in other lands, after all. 

By midafternoon, Wilhelm reached the large cavern the Dragon had claimed. He could see its paw prints, and the tracks its tail had made in the wet dirt. Gleaming, ebony scales littered the edges of the cave, perhaps where the dragon had brushed against its stony walls in the night. The deeper Wilhelm went, the colder and darker it got, until he found a massive pile of rubbish, or what immediately looked like rubbish. Everything in the pile was shiny, glinting in the low light, and arranged around the cavern in a giant circle. At the center of the circle was not a dragon, but a boy. 

Wilhelm drew his dagger, cursed by the Witches of Colchis, it could not kill a dragon, but it would stun one, enough for the Prince to escape with the captive unharmed. He approached slowly and silently, watching each step and judging the next. It took several moments, but he eventually reached the boy, and knelt down next to him. He was still alive, breathing deep and slow in sleep, but his skin was cold as ice, making Wilhelm restrain a hiss at the contact. 

“Excuse me, you must wake!” Wilhelm whispered, gently shaking the boy’s shoulder. “There are dragons about!” The boy grumbled and rolled over, so Wilhelm got a good look at his face. He was pale as ivory, skin unmarred and smooth as glass, with dark, thickly curled hair that haloed his head in a way that reminded Wilhelm of a baby bat’s wings. He was small, and deathly thin, like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. Wilhelm figured he could loop his hand around one of the boy’s wrists and still have room to spare. “Please, wake-” the boy’s eyes opened with a deadly flash, he looked around in bewilderment before his eyes caught onto Wilhelm’s hand on his shoulder. He immediately scrambled back from the Prince. 

“Who are you? Why did you come here?” He asked, looking around, perhaps for more men. His eyes were wide and wild, dark as the depths of the ocean and twice are stormy as the waves atop. He looked ready to bolt at a second’s chance, but Wilhelm seemed to be blocking the only exit. 

“I am Prince Wilhelm, of Delphi, I’ve come to rescue you! Are you not in danger of the dragon?” 

“No, no! I’m not in danger! You’ll be if you do not go!” The boy seemed to catch his nerve, pushing Wilhelm towards the exit in a hurry, glancing around the room on alert. 

“I cannot leave without you! That is why I came!” Wilhelm fought back, turning around in the boy’s surprisingly firm grasp. “You’re in danger!” When Wilhelm threw his hands up in exasperation, he’d momentarily forgotten the blade in its hand until directly after it nicked the boy’s arm, just a scrape that hardly broke the surface, but it was enough. 

“What have you… what have you done?” The boy yelled, throwing himself away from Wilhelm in a fit. He clutched at his arm, but Wilhelm could see the flesh moving against his hands. “What was that?” 

“I-... my cursed blade… it’s meant to stun dragons. Why...?”

The boy whimpered and hunched over himself, curling his arms around his head. He fell to his knees, moving to clutch his stomach. When his arms moved, Wilhelmina could see the gleaming black horns sprouting from his skull, two behind his ears and two on his forehead. He groaned and whined, thrashing as his body seemed to grow and elongate. The prince’s mouth was agape as the scrawny boy before him transformed into the splendid black dragon he'd heard about for years. 

Wilhelm yelped and scrambled back when the dragon swung around, its massive tail nearly taking his head off. It, or he, crooned pathetically, watching the prince through weary silver eyes. 

“You're not a boy at all…” Wilhelm gasped in amazement, not feeling the slightest hint of fear that should have probably been crushing him. 

The dragon snapped its maw, blowing steam out of its nose before laying its head on the cool stone floor of the cave, looking pointedly at Wilhelm’s dagger.

“I didn't know!” He protested, sheathing the weapon in a show of peace. “How was I supposed to know you're the dragon! You were tiny!” The dragon growled indignantly at that, making Wilhelm’s hair stand on end. “Sorry, but you were. Can you change back? It's hard to have a conversation like this.” 

The dragon shrugged his massive shoulders, the tip of its tail pointing at the dagger. 

“This? What about it? I put it away,” the dragon rolled his eyes, pointing again with more vigor, then himself. “Oh, it made you change.” The dragon nodded his large head stiffly, glaring at the gleaming handle at Wilhelm’s waist. “Sorry… I didn't know.” 

The dragon sighed, a great puff of hot air that singed the edges of Wilhelm’s tunic, but sat up a moment later. When Wilhelm blinked again, the boy was before him once more, holding his head and wincing terribly. “Forced transformations are always the most troublesome…” He grumbled, looking up at Wilhelm. “What now, will you kill me? Add a bounty? Take me a pet?” 

“No, none of that. Now I know you're not dangerous… I'll take my leave of you. I'll say you stumbled into the cave on your own, naive to its hold. No one shall bother you,” the Prince promised. “On my word. But… May I know your name?”

“Nico, of None.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Nico of None, I apologize for my earlier misconduct. I had no idea of your nature, I pray you forgive me.” 

“I'll hold no grudge, this time,” Nico sighed, sitting down in his circle again. “Begone, the sun burns my eyes.” 

Several weeks passed between the Prince and the Dragon’s first meeting, and their second. The first, though intentional, would cause many happenings in their world to unfold. 

One late evening, as the moon rose above the dense forests of Delphi’s outer reaches, prince Wilhelm found himself and his friends stranded. They had been side tracked when Lord Percy, a visiting prince from the city-kingdom of Paestrum, was nearly gored by a wild boar. The Stoll brothers currently had him slung between them, with Frank, the head of Wilhelm’s guard, trailed behind, Grover, Percy’s best friend and manservant, followed close by. Their horses walked by their sides, none of them wanting to ride while their friend could not. 

It suddenly struck Wilhelm that Percy would need the night to rest so they could make the rest of the journey in the morning, therefore they would need a safe place to sleep. After a little thought, Wilhelm remembered Nico of None, the seemingly friendly dragon living in the caves.

“I believe I know of a place we may rest the night, this way,” Wilhelm took the lead, changing course towards the gaping maw of the cave buried deep into the mountain side. Little light spilled from its mouth, and Wilhelm prayed Nico of None would be home. “Wait here,” he left his companions just inside the cave, padding deeper into its bowels on his own. “Nico of None, are you home?” 

“Didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” Wilhelm spun around, Nico of None hung from the roof, dangling precariously from one of the dripping stalactite. He dropped down, landing elegantly in a wash of blackened robes, looking at the Prince with curious eyes. He still looked frail and tired to the bone, only this time he possessed a circlet of delicate silver around his head, half buried beneath his curls. “Why have you come into a Dragon’s lair, in the night, no less?”

“My friend is hurt, and we are a far ride from my home,” Wilhelm explained quickly, trying to keep his voice low and reasonable. “I ask you for a safe place to spend the night. I will be in your debt.”

“A Prince in debt to a Dragon? My, what would the commoners say?” Nico asked, a wicked grin marring his lovely face. “No, you will not owe me. You have kept my secret, to my knowledge. You will be welcomed here tonight.” 

“I thank you,” Wilhelm grinned, bowing to Nico and scooping up his hands, pressing a kiss to his knuckles before dashing off to fetch his friends, leaving a sputtering and red faced dragon in his wake. 

“Are you sure he is trustworthy, sire?” Frank whispered, probably for the sixth time that night as they sat around the Dragon’s flame, roasting several rabbits gifted to them from Nico himself. “His aura reeks of magic.”

“Nico is trustworthy, of that I’m sure,” Wilhelm replied yet again, trying to keep from sounding exasperated. “If he wished us dead, believe me, we would be. Now relax, don’t spite his hospitality.” 

“Something doesn’t sit well with me…” Frank whispered back, watching warily as Nico slathered a clear, viscous fluid onto the worst of Percy’s injuries. The Lord groaned and winced, before melting into a boneless heap, profusely thanking Nico. Frank only frowned, Wilhelm scolded him gently, ordering him to finish his rabbit. 

Wilhelm felt he had just lay his head down when he heard the scream. It was a scream of surprise and fear, striking dread into Wilhelm’s heart. He rolled onto his feet, sword drawn to see Connor Stoll aiming his sword at a large, inky black dragon. The others were beginning to wake, but Wilhelm didn’t have enough time to wait for them to get their bearings. He leaped between Nico and his men, dropping his sword as he spread his arms as if that might protect the sleeping dragon. 

“Stand down!” 

“My Lord, this is-”

“I know what he is!” Wilhelm tensed as Nico shifted, his great nose poking against Wilhelm’s back. 

“It is a danger,” Frank was immediately at the ready, impressive sword drawn and aimed straight for the eyes. Even Percy looked like he would give a heart throw from his sitting position. “Where’s the boy? He’s not in his cot.”

“He ate him!” Connor wailed, trying to charge for the waking beast. Wilhelm shoved his back. 

“No, he didn’t!” Wilhelm huffed, the dragon was awake now, breathing steam onto the Prince’s back. “Nico isn’t dangerous, he helped Percy, and gave us asylum for the night.”

“Prince Wilhelm, are you saying that… thing… is Nico?” Nico growled lowly, the men all aimed their swords once more. Wilhelm reached behind him, placing a hand on the beast’s snout, and that, of all things, seemed to calm him. His men stared at him in wonder. 

“He’s not a thing,” Wilhelm snapped, scarring his companions. He quickly cooled down, back to his usual composed self. “Nico is a dragon, yes, I knew this when I asked him for help. He must have transformed in his sleep; I do not know. All I know is we are all safe, and relatively unharmed, Lord Percy notwithstanding. Nico, are you able to transform? I’m afraid Travis might soil himself.”

“Sorry,” Nico was there, adjusting his robes, a moment later. He appeared the same, maybe a touch more tired, but the same young man as before. “You didn’t tell them they were venturing into a dragon’s den?” 

“Witchcraft!” Connor hissed, Nico rolled his eyes as if he’d heard it all before.

“Yes, yes, the witch’s curse and all of that. Look, do you think this is any more pleasant for me? Having this propensity for collecting shiny things, being labelled a killer despite not eating meat in years? I was cast away here, banished from my own kingdom because my father was foolish enough to make a deal with Hecate without considering the consequences!” Nico of None hissed, gesturing wildly with his hands. Now, Wilhelm recognized his features. The slim, angled face, sickly skin that may have been olive at one point were he to see sun, the dark, widened eyes. He had every characteristic of a citizen of Asphodel. “I denounced his name, but it wasn’t enough! I take control of my curse, but it slips out of my grasp! Then you, those who do not know me, whom I have helped and healed, denounce me a monster and attempt to cut me down in my sleep?” 

“I… well…” 

“I am unaware of how things are done in Delphi, but where I am from, we do not slaughter our hosts in cold blood! You Prince is kind and fair, he kept my secret knowing it could endanger him, but you… is this how your common folk are raised?” 

“No!” Connor and Travis both shouted in unison, Nico only scowled more. 

“Then act like men and put aside your bias! Use logic before your fears take your heart, or else you are no more than savages,” Nico hissed, forked tongue passing his lips for a few moments before he turned in a flurry of scalding robes. Wilhelm ordered his men to bed, assuring them Nico would not harm them in the night, and making them give their word not to utter a word of Nico’s secret. 

In the morning, as his companions packed, Will searched the cave for Nico of None. The boy was curled up amidst a mound of candelabras, skin clammy and taut as he feigned sleep. 

“Nico of None, I wish to say my goodbyes,” Wilhelm announced quietly, peering over the boy. “And to wish my sincerest apologies. I haven’t gotten the words of all of them, your secret is safe with us.”

“Are you certain?” the boy asked, eyes still shut tight and fists clenched at his chest. “If I wake tomorrow to a battalion gracing my doorstep, it is your head I’ll seek.” 

“And it is my head you’ll get,” Wilhelm promised sincerely. Nico finally peered through dark lashes at the Prince, jaw slack as if seeing him for the first time. 

“I’ll hold you to that.” 

“I would expect no less.” 

Many months after, sightings of the Delphi dragon began to dwindle. Nico seemed to venture out less and less, taking no treasures and still harming none. Wilhelm had ordered he be kept up to date on happenings involving the dragon, so when they suddenly stopped, he became worried. Then the army came. 

Lead by King Hades of Asphodel, a legion of gaunt, battle hardened warriors marched on Delphi. The king demanded immediate audience with King Apollo, sighting that if he was refused, he would begin to light villages aflame.

King Apollo, being the people’s leader, welcomed him into his home like an old friend. King Hades was a harsh man, but appeared not unreasonable while Wilhelm sat in with his father during their audience. Hades explained the betrayal he’d faced, how his own brother, Emperor Zeus of Olympia, had slain his wife and only daughter, leaving him a widower and King of None. Zeus had charged upon his castle, slaying any he thought stood a chance of dethroning him, and Hades wanted justice. 

King Hades was collecting allies, Wilhelm realized, and was surprised when his father agreed solemnly. 

“My own son was killed by another Lord; I understand your plight. I join you as friends, King Hades, and equals.”

“If your words hold true, I request one thing,” Hades replied, face stony and harsh. “If I am correct, your kingdom is one of the few to allow same-gender marriages of convenience, yes? Zeus may have killed my wife, and my daughter, but he did not know I have a son, as well.” Wilhelm immediately sat up in his seat, leaning forward as if it would help him hear better. “My son, Prince Nico of None, only heir to the throne of Asphodel,” Wilhelm immediately stood as Nico entered the throne room. 

The boy looked so different than when he had been in his cave. If possible, he looked even more haunted, eyes gaunt and empty. His cheeks were sunken, giving him the appearance of a skeleton. His dark, curly hair was flat and dull, his skin even more sickly than it had been. He looked trapped, miserable, and if Wilhelm looked closely, he could see where his wrists had been bound. 

“I ask for your son to meet my own in matrimony, to unite our two kingdoms as family against the tyrant. Do you agree?” 

“I do,” Wilhelm spoke before his father could reply, earning him several stunned looked from his servants and family. Hades’ smile was wicked and cruel, giving Wilhelm the distinct feeling he had made a grave error. 

 

“You imbecile, how could you?” Nico shouted the moment they were alone. Wilhelm had been asked to show Nico to his quarters to get him settled, and Nico had immediately pounced on him the moment the door clicked shut behind him. He had the Prince pinned to the door, eyes blazing like Wilhelm had never seen. 

“How could I what?” 

“Can’t you see? My father is using you! All of you!” Nico hissed, looking torn between punching Wilhelm and running away. He instead pushed off the door, pacing the length of the room. Admittedly, Wilhelm was glad to see some fire back in the boy. 

“For vengeance against a tyrant? A murderer? I can hardly see what’s wrong with that.”

“My father was not married.” 

“…What?” 

“My sister, she died years ago. The witch that cursed me, well… she cursed Bianca first. My father, he tried to be clever and outwit the witch but… the witch got angry, and killed my sister in revenge. He was never married, but he had a lover, my mother, she was a concubine of his. She died on Olympian soil when I was six.” 

“Then why is he barging in declaring a war on an innocent country?” 

“Oh, do not mistake me, Zeus is far from innocent. He struck my mother down himself. But my father isn’t after revenge, he’s after power. By offering me to you, he is hoping you won’t know of my curse until it is too late. He’s hoping one of us will die, so he may start a war and conquer your kingdom for his own,” Nico’s voice was cold and empty, like he was resigned to his fate as a pawn in his father’s game. He clenched his fists, staring at Wilhelm with such determination the Prince almost took a step back. “He banished me from my lands, he stripped my title, named me the Monster of Asphodel for his own mistakes! He kidnapped me from my home as I slept, and when I tried to run, he followed! I may be a pawn in his game but I refuse to allow you as well…” 

“Nico…” 

“I can’t. I can’t allow him to sully what little genuine kindness is left in this pitiful world!” 

“Nico!” 

“…What?”

“You don’t have to be a pawn. _We_ don’t have to be pawns. You know his plan, and I know of your curse.”

“So?”

“ _So_ , don’t you see? His plan is already foiled! I won’t kill you, and you wouldn’t harm me. His plan can hardly come into effect.” 

“That’s true… but he’ll find another way.” 

“We’ll stop him, Nico,” Wilhelm promised, crossing the room to take both of Nico’s hands in his own. 

“Why are you so ready to help me?” Nico whispered, staring at the marble flooring in disbelief. 

“Why wouldn’t I?” Wilhelm grinned, squeezing the boy’s hands. “I felt as if I’ve known you for years.”

“You hardly know me, Wilhelm.”

“Will.”

“What?”

“My friends call me Will, and that’s okay, I have plenty of time to get to know you. We’re engaged, after all!” 

 

Nico was right, shortly after the two were married in a widely public ceremony that seemed to make Nico bleed discomfort (not just due to the crowd, Nico was actually quite sensitive to sunlight; several times he had to sit down in the shade to keep from being ill), Lord Hades called for Nico. It had been several weeks, and neither of them had died. When Nico came back, shaken but smiling, Will knew he’d done something. 

Some days later, Nico confided in Will his plan to publicly denounce himself from his father’s name. When he did so, Hades immediately retaliated (though he claimed otherwise) by sending a group of mercenaries to a village on the outskirts of Delphi. When Nico caught wind, he disappeared for several days in a rage, only to come back as calm and composed as ever. That morning, a messenger burst in and gave them the stunning report of the Delphi Dragon’s return and its glorious defeat of the mercenaries. 

Nico confessed his love for Will after a year of marriage, claiming he’d fallen for Will’s compassion and selflessness, but his looks didn’t hurt. Wilhelm returned the sentiment immediately, claiming Nico’s determination and morality, but no, his looks didn’t hurt either. Their marriage of convenience became a union of love shortly after. 

After several years and several failed assassinations by Hades, and one low-time Baron named Minos in a failed rebellion, Wilhelm and Nico rose to Kings of Delphi. They quickly became known as the Kingdom of Dragons when it seemed the Delphi Dragon would dispatch any threats to Delphi’s people with ruthless efficiency, but would should its people gentle kindness. 

Will’s companions that night several years ago kept Nico’s secret, and even when their little family grew (Percy was married, as was Frank, Leo, and his lover Calypso, of Helena Mountains extended an alliance, as well, after happenings Nico would not explain to Will), the secret remained that. 

Though Nico feared the witch’s return, or a strike from his father, neither came after that, and both Kings of Delphi were able to rule in happiness and peace for the rest of their days.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any ideas or request, come find my writing blog! prettyboydocx.tumblr.com


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